


If The Fates Allow

by TinyBat



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Grant is a huge pushover around kids, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-30
Updated: 2013-11-30
Packaged: 2018-01-03 01:09:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1063870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyBat/pseuds/TinyBat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grant takes Jemma back home for Christmas to meet his family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If The Fates Allow

**Author's Note:**

> Anon prompt: Biospecialist-Christmas
> 
> Title taken from Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", because it's my favorite Christmas song, and it seemed oddly appropriate.

"You're sure they'll like me?" was the question of the hour, day, and week after Jemma agreed to come back to Massachusetts with Grant for Christmas. They were still in the middle of figuring out exactly how serious they were, but they shared a room now and her parents had almost knocked Grant over rushing to hug him when they met. It was a solid relationship, or something as close to solid as SHIELD would allow and they were in it for the long run. Fitz was staying with his parents, and Coulson had gone to Portland, taking Skye with him. May had made her own arrangements, saying something about seeing agents Barton and Romanoff.

"Of course they'll like you. They're strangely perceptive for kids, and I know they don't get it from their dad." Grant said, grabbing Jemma's suitcase and pulling it out of the overhead cabin. The "they" in question were Grant's two nieces, Alice and Ava. He adored them and he was their hero. He talked to them once a week and made sure that if he couldn't talk to them, to make sure they had a little gift sent their way. Privately Jemma thought that Grant would be an excellent father, and that given the nature of his work, doting on his nieces was his way of dealing with the fact that he may never get to have a family of his own.

Grant's younger brother Tom, and his wife Moira had insisted that Grant try to come stay with them over the holiday and it took a lot of wrangling on Coulson's end to give the agents a few days off. Seeing the only family he cared to think about made Grant's work easier to deal with, and knowing that he'd get to bring Jemma home to them was as close to perfect as his life got. 

"Be nice. Tom has been nice enough to let me come stay so don't start our time off by sassing him." Jemma nudged him in the side and they made their way off the plane into the brightly lit labyrinth of Logan Airport. "Tom is going to get right on top of me as soon as we get in the door so i'm allowed. I think he probably likes you more than he likes me by virtue of the fact that i've never actually brought anyone home before."  


This was new information so as they stood outside in the cold, looking for Grant's brother and the car, Jemma was genuinely surprised. The sight of two little blonde heads bobbing up and down with a sign saying "HI UNCLE GRANT!" alerted them both to their direction and they dodged cabs to get to their welcoming committee. The second they crossed on to the sidewalk, two streaks of blonde hair and excited shrieks of laughter launched themselves into Grant, wrapping their arms around him as he bent to pick them up. 

"Well, I know my two little nieces are supposed to be around here somewhere, but now there are just these two lovely young ladies. Jemma, I think we're in the wrong city." Grant said, hugging the girls to his chest, kissing their foreheads, and smiling so widely it threatened to split his face. 

Warmth bloomed in Jemma's chest watching him, she was right. One day, universe willing, Grant Ward would be a wonderful father.

A shorter, slightly stockier version of Grant with the same blue eyes as the two girls held his hand out to Jemma. "Hi. You're obviously Jemma because I know him. I'm Tom, and the two monkeys accosting my brother are my daughters Alice and Ava. It's wonderful to finally meet you." He said, grinning at Jemma and her expression of wonder. Jemma nodded and shook the offered hand. "It's wonderful to meet you and the girls too. He's been accosted by worse, so i'm not too worried. The stewardess was rather handsy on our flight." 

Grant lowered the girls to the ground, resting his hands on their shoulders, and bending down to their level. "Alright girls, this is Jemma. She's the one I told you i'd be bringing. What do you think? Can I keep her?" 

The older one, Alice as Jemma learned later examined her uncle's guest very thoroughly. Her brow creasing and her jaw jutting in a way that was very similar to Grant's when he was mulling over a thought, she nodded. "She's very pretty. I like her. Her suitcase is pretty too. Yours is kinda beat up. She can stay." 

Jemma blushed, tied between watching Tom shift the bags over to the back of the car and watching Grant and the girls. "She's like a princess! Miss Simmons, do you think Uncle Grant's jokes are funny? Did he dress up as Indiana Jones for Halloween this year? Are you really from England?" Ava who'd been buzzing with excitement let loose a flood of questions. 

Grant laughed, he'd explained how much Ava loved to talk, while Alice was a bit more reserved on their flight from London. He stood up to help Tom load the suitcases into the car while Jemma attempted to stand up to the scrutiny of the girls. 

"Yes, my suitcase is prettier than your uncle's. He travelled a lot more before we met. Sometimes his jokes are funny, sometimes I have to laugh anyway because he's the one being silly. No, this year he dressed as Han Solo from Star Wars. I have pictures if you want to see, and yes I grew up in England. Both of you can call me Jemma, if I can call you Alice and Ava." 

Ava immediately burst into a big grin, showing off several missing teeth, and pulled Alice over by the hand as Jemma took out her phone to show them pictures of Halloween. Alice cheered when Jemma found a picture of Grant, holding a replica of Han's blaster that Fitz had rigged up for the evening.

"He looks so cool! Jemma, did you dress up too?" Jemma nodded, swiping over to show them a picture of her as Leia in her snow outfit from Empire Strikes Back. Ava clapped, and Alice made an "ooooh" of approval. The buzz of Tom and Grant speaking in the background became clearer as both of them each loaded a girl into the back of the car, and buckled them in.

Jemma sat in between the two girls quite comfortably while Grant got into the passengers seat. Tom carefully navigated his way out of the parking lot and got them out into a tunnel. "So, is Moira at home making she has bandages and rubbing alcohol just in case?" Grant inquired, doing his best to turn around and watch Jemma chatter enthusiastically with his nieces.

His last visit home had been eventful, he'd torn open some stitches along his ribcage, and Moira a nurse, had to sew him back together again before the girls got home from a play date. Tom and Grant had been glad the girls weren't there to see it, Moira had let out a series of violent curses when she made Grant take off his shirt. There had been blood running all down his side, and Grant's torso was covered with scars from knives, bullets of all sizes, and still healing bruises.

Grant couldn't go into detail about work, but Tom knew that his brother's job was dangerous, and the kind of dangerous that left a lot of things unsaid for everyone's safety. "She did when she found out her patchwork man of a brother in law would be coming back around. She worries about you, just like I do. If you two end up with more down time, you should come stay more often." The lightness of Tom's voice didn't do much to hide the seriousness of his statement. 

The most Grant had told them about being able to do Christmas was that his higher-ups had okayed a few days off; and he'd be bringing his girlfriend, the one he'd told Alice and Ava about if it was okay with them. The secrecy involved in his life hadn't strained things with Tom too much, but he did have to dodge a few questions after Moira made sure he was taken care of. 

"We do what we can, but our downtime isn't usually on this continent. Given how the girls have taken to Jemma, i'd like to be able to come back here with her more. I can't tell you how lucky I am to have her. She's one of the most brilliant people i've ever met, and definitely the most patient." Grant said, smiling over at Jemma who looked up and waved, she was showing the girls pictures from their mission in Peru. They were laughing at a picture of Fitz who was behind Grant, mocking his serious expression and posture. 

Tom pulled in to the driveway, and looked at his brother, his expression deadpan. "Anyone who has it in them to work with you has to be patient. Jemma, is he as joyless and boring at work as I know he can be when he's here?"

"Well, at first yes. It took him a little while to warm up to my lab partner and I, but to be fair I was convinced at first that he couldn't speak in sentences that weren't longer than four words, or talk at all without his customary scowl." Tom smirked, elbowing Grant before he stepped out to get the bags. Grant rolled his eyes and opened the door to help Ava out of her car seat while Jemma helped Alice untangle her jacket from her seatbelt.

"Getting used to you and Fitz is a work in progress. Both of you separately i'm fine with, even if he's terrible at explaining the dwarves to me. You together requires all of my free mental capacity." 

Alice hopped out of the car and Grant offered his hand to Jemma as she stepped back out into the chilly air. The bags were already inside and a very pretty, sharp eyed woman stood in the door. Her expression when she saw Grant was a clinical one, Jemma recognized it because she used the same one on him when he came into the lab after missions. 

"I know that look, which mission were you recovering from last time you were here?" Jemma asked, before Ava pulled them both up onto the porch. She was very strong for a five year old.

"Let's see, we had just finished debriefing when Coulson said we had a few days for Thanksgiving so probably Anatolia." Grant winced, recalling how painful that whole incident had been for him. Jemma cringed to herself, there had been turbulence while she'd been suturing up a stab wound Grant had acquired in a fight with some pirates.

"Go inside, girls there's hot chocolate on the counter. Grant, you're in one piece. It must be Christmas then. You must be Jemma, why someone as innocent looking as you is with him i'll never know." Moira said, stepping out onto the porch to shake Jemma's hand, and to give her in law a cursory glance before pulling him into a hug.

"I'd hardly call Jemma innocent, her job is colorful." Moira led them into the foyer, and looked at Jemma properly. "Colorful? You don't-" she asked, but Jemma cut in before Grant could say something that might worry the woman.

"Oh goodness no, i'm in biochem. When he says colorful he means of the examining dead things and taking notes variety. I do apologize though, it occurs to me that you cleaning him up might have been because I had to clean him up before he left last time he made his way here."

"Live patients, not your wheelhouse?" Moira asked, still watching Jemma carefully. She dearly loved Grant but they knew very little about what he did, she and Tom had assumed he was a Fed but for him to bring a biochemist home was strange. Jemma gestured with her hands, indicating that she got both. 

"That's fair. Grant, she's already too good for you. I like her. There's hot chocolate in the kitchen and when we're done, i'll show you to the guest room so you can settle in. Grant, if you bleed on my sheets again you're sleeping outside." 

Jemma had to laugh now, leaning into her boyfriend's broad chest. "He's all clear. I haven't had to stitch him up for a month. I'm very proud, and slightly relieved. He's a terrible patient." Grant sighed, pulling her in tighter and the conversation was interrupted by a series of short barks, and a peculiar scratching noise.

Grant and Jemma looked down to see a tiny yellow lab puppy attempting to engage Grant's right foot in play. "Frank! No!" Alice said, coming in from the kitchen. Moira was leaning against a bookcase, laughing at the expressions on the faces of her guests. 

Grant and Jemma hadn't been near animals that were approaching friendly for months, and they were, even on vacation, highly alert. The puppy tugged at Grant's shoes, and rolled onto it's back, chewing happily on the aglets of his laces. It stopped when Alice called though.

"Frank? You got a puppy and A) neither of you mentioned it, and B) you named it Frank? Alice, I might not give you your gifts now for leaving out such important information."

"His name is actually Francis Albert Sinatra, Mom named him. He likes to sing in the morning. We got him last week." 

Jemma bent down and scratched the puppy's belly, it rolled over and began licking her fingers and scrabbling at her knees, willing her to make room in her lap for him. 

"You got a singing dog? Now neither of you are getting presents." Grant shook his head and Jemma scooped Frank up, cradling him in her arms, as he pawed at her hair and made satisfied huffing noises. 

Grant scratched him behind the ears and yelled to Tom in the kitchen. "Tommy Boy, you have a rat problem. The thing is huge! What do I do with it?" Tom waved everyone into the kitchen and in they went, Jemma still cuddling the puppy to her chest. 

Ava was covered in whipped cream, but she marched right over to her uncle and put her little hands on her hips, frowning up at him.

"Frank isn't a rat, Uncle Grant! He's a puppy! Don't you know what puppies are?" Grant made a show of looking terrified, Alice hid her giggling by taking a sip of her drink, and Moira had gone to the sink to get a wet paper towel for her younger daughter's face.

"Well miss Ava, your dad and I didn't have a dog growing up. Our friend Fitz is kind of like a monkey though, isn't that right Jemma?" Grant asked, Jemma rolled her eyes at him and handed the wiggling puppy over to him. 

Grant, who wasn't used to animals who weren't attempting to savage him looked perplexed for a minute but the ambulatory ball of fluff barked happily at him and Grant hugged the dog.

"Frank is better than monkeys though. What do you think, Jemma? Think we'd be able to get a dog?" Jemma, who'd gone over to the counter to grab a mug of hot chocolate, nearly aspirated whipped cream upon hearing the question. After she composed herself, she answered. "Not even if Fitz could devise a working shrink ray. Remember the fish tank?"

Grant did remember Director Fury vetoing the fish tank Fitz and Jemma had wanted to install, it was a shame really. Tropical fish would be a good distraction in the team's downtime. Frank, intent on being acknowledged, bit Grant on the chin, and Grant came dangerously close to dropping the creature.

"Ow! Hey, little guy. None of that." Tom took the puppy from his brother, and set him down in a little cordoned off area of the kitchen floor.

"We're trying to train him out of that but he's still adjusting. He's a lot like a human baby. Though i'd recommend you two start with a dog first if you ever settle down." Jemma had pulled a napkin out of her pocket and was holding it to the bleeding cut on Grant's chin but they both smiled. Neither of them wanted to make promises but both of them liked to think of each other as their futures, when they were of a mind to consider futures beyond the next 24 hours.

"We'll certainly do our best. We're too busy at the moment and for the foreseeable future to do anything quite so domestic, even if we could find a dog to regularly bite Grant and eat his shoes. Work makes everything that isn't work a bit of an adventure." 

Tom and Moira both nodded, their inferred knowledge coinciding with the implications of Jemma's statement. Ava, freshly cleaned yawned widely and Grant ambled over to pick her up. Her tiny figure was made smaller by the fact that Grant had yet to take off his enormous leather jacket, and her sandy blonde hair splayed across his shoulder as her head drooped sleepily downward provided an interesting contrast. 

"You had an adventure of your own, coming to get us today. How about Jemma and I read you a story and we'll show you a game we play with our friends tomorrow. Sound good?" She nodded, balling her fist into the collar of his jacket. Jemma wished she could take a picture of Grant's face as the girl settled into his arms but she knew it wouldn't be quite enough to capture it in full. 

Alice had snuck off to get herself ready for bed, she came back into the kitchen in a pair of sweatpants and a Captain America t-shirt. Jemma let out a delighted noise, spying the logo. She had been a part of the team responsible for Captain Rogers' initial testing once he was off ice and she continued monitoring him until she'd been transferred onto Coulson's team. He was one of the most genuinely kind men she'd ever met, very serious though. One of his first visits to her part of the lab had involved finding a needle strong enough to give Jemma a sufficient blood and tissue sample. He hadn't complained, and he made a joke about calling Doctor Banner in to take a swing at him and make her job a little easier. Alice, who was looking sleepy herself, visibly brightened when Jemma noticed her shirt. 

"Do you like him too? He's my favorite, well actually Black Widow is my favorite but we couldn't find pajamas with her on them." Jemma took a moment to frame her answer so she didn't seem like she was familiar with him on a doctor/patient level. "Yes, I do. He's always seemed quite nice and he's very handsome from what i've seen on the news. Black Widow, she's amazing too, they're all amazing. I wonder what they're like."

Grant, who'd been rocking a solidly asleep Ava stifled a laugh in his sleeve, he was more than familiar with the Black Widow. Agent Romanoff had been an unofficial second S.O. to him, with Agent Barton being his on paper supervisor. She was a real hard ass but her sense of humor was wonderful when she hadn't had his face pressed into a gym mat. He didn't think she'd mind being on girls pajamas, he'd have to call her and ask. As for Captain Rogers, Grant liked him well enough, their exchanges had been brief, they'd been deployed together once and they'd occasionally see each other at briefings. Solid guy, great at poker.

Moira gently took Ava out of Grant's grasp and disappeared to put her to bed. Jemma made her way back to Grant's side and they watched Alice and her father have a non-verbal discussion using a lot of the expressions Grant possessed. Alice looked to be winning, given the glare Tom was receiving but she gave a defeated sigh, and crossed her arms, her jaw tightening in a way that must be a Ward family trait. 

"I'll show you to the guest room and Alice is going to finish her homework before she goes to bed. She promised me that if she got to come to the airport to pick you guys up, she'd get the rest of her homework done." Tom said, leading the two out as Alice settled herself at the counter with a groan.

Their room was at the end of the hallway on the first floor, and it had a bathroom connected to it so they wouldn't need to worry about privacy. Jemma unpacked their clothes as Grant made sure everything was placed in the bathroom. He hadn't swept the house yet, he'd promised Tom that he would after both girls went to bed if he felt like he had to do it at all. Grant hated that this aspect of his job always came back here with him, that lingering fear never left and it weighed him down. He was fine with Tom and Moira thinking he was a spook, technically he was. SHIELD was international though so if Grant was a spook, then he'd be on the far end of strange and they took all kinds at a federal level. As long as they thought he was federal, he and Jemma were in the clear. Anyone who wasn't working on the ground during a major cleanup didn't know that SHIELD existed and it needed to stay that way.

"We're only here for 3 days, and Christmas Eve is tomorrow. Promise me you'll do what you can to relax." Jemma said, as Grant came out to help her arrange their stuff.

"I will, it just takes me awhile. I don't like feeling as though I need to check all the phones and computers for bugs. They're the only family I have, they should be safe from all of this, and I guess I feel like they should be safe from me too." Jemma pulled Grant down onto the bed and kissed him on the cheek, leaning into his chest, and just sitting for a moment.

"I saw you with those girls, they adore you. They couldn't be luckier to have you as their protector, Grant. And if i'm being honest, Moira is terrifying enough to scare anyone away, no matter who they worked for." Grant rested his cheek atop her head and he smiled a little. 

"Yeah, we grew up with her. She doesn't take it from anyone. 4 older brothers and she works as a nurse in the trauma unit at Mass General. Tommy has been in love with her since he was 9, about Alice's age. She punched him in the nose when he stole her soccer ball. I know with us, we can't really plan for our future, but I see how Tommy finally has something good and stable and safe and he did it all on his own. I'm so proud of him for that, I think maybe i'd like something this solid for us too." 

It wasn't something they liked to talk about, not with Grant still an active field agent, but given how long they had worked and lived together, Jemma and Grant having any sort of lives without each other was becoming unthinkable. Skye had taken Grant aside one day after training and said that maybe, even if it was early that they should get married, just in case. 

Just in case hadn't come up yet but the thought had stuck. Skye had championed their relationship from the start, even managing to talk Fitz around after a month or so of Grant needing to check all of his possessions for explosives. Both of them were very grateful, May and Coulson had silently given their assent to the pairing, and Grant hadn't been yelled at when he explained the briefly intimate relationship he and May had indulged in. Jemma didn't mind it, she had simply understood and she remained as unthreatened and sensible as always. Their relationship didn't affect their work but Grant was now much more careful with his decisions out in the field. Coming back to the bus and coming back to the bus mostly intact were now priorities along with completing the mission on time.

"I'd like that too one day. We deserve it, all of us do. Not right now though, too much of the world needs saving. For now, why don't we just have Christmas with your family and even if we can't pretend to be two normal people, let's see how far we get." Jemma said, yawning. They were both slightly jet-lagged from spending the past two days in London with her parents even if traveling with work should have gotten them used to the feeling. Grant went out, said goodnight for both of them, and they were asleep as soon as they were changed. They could do this, Christmas was about joy, and for now they could find it in just being together, on the ground, with people who cared.


End file.
